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What's the deal with Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville? Where do I begin!

The follow-up to PopCap's kooky team-based shooter series Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare isn't fully out yet – the launch is set for October 18 – but you can play Battle for Neighborville right here, right now, if you're willing to open up your wallet. The "Founder's Edition" is available across PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and it's essentially a brief early access rollout before the finished game lands.

The idea is to release new content on a weekly basis until launch, at which point the price tag will be bumped from $30 up to $40, and PopCap Vancouver will take things from there. We're currently two weeks into the six-week Founder's Edition roadmap, and after spending a dozen hours with Battle for Neighborville, I have some stray thoughts to share. Is it worth jumping in yet? It depends.

As it stands, the main attractions are two PvE zones – the very on-brand Town Center, for plant players, and the camp-themed Weirding Woods for team zombie – along with a social hub, separate home bases for both sides, and a pair of PvP modes. Whether you're playing solo or teaming up to explore and take on tough AI bounties in one of the open-world levels, Battle for Neighborville is an online experience through and through. Back at base, you can watch people spend their in-game currency to roll the dice on cosmetic unlocks, a concept I'm not thrilled about, even if it's been done before.